Bonuses
by Karama9
Summary: Former bonuses written for Arashikage reviewers, now available to all because it turns out I like people reading my stuff. Shocking! The last bonus, chapter 10, is a secret scene of secrecy, that reveals a secrety secret... (insert mysterious music)
1. Chapter 1: Deleted Scene, Cobra Island

**Author's Notes**

These were bonuses I sent out to reviewers of Arashikage. I will post here the ones that are not already posted as their own stories… it occurred to me it wouldn't be such a bad thing for more people to be able to read them.

This was the bonus for chapter 12. It is a deleted scene that would have taken place just before Cobra evacuated Cobra Island in chapter 10, right after Storm Shadow remarks that evacuating will take days. In the final version, they leave within an hour and there is no battle. I rewrote it three or four times, trying to balance it so I could leave it in. In the end, I had to scratch it because it was hurting the plot a lot more than helping it.

I ended up replacing it with the battle at the United Nations; the timing worked much better that way.

* * *

**Deleted Scene: Cobra Island Battle**

"We're not taking everything," the Commander says. "We're leaving in the morning, unless TOO many troops attack. Speaking of which…"

He pauses a moment, staring at me.

"… I want no survivors. Every soldier that comes here tonight dies – the only ones I don't want to see die by your hands are those that are killed by the troops first. Understood?"

"Yes, Commander," I say. It comes out a lot easier than I expected. I've been dreading this moment for weeks, but now that it's here, I find it's almost a relief.

I think what's making it easier is that I simply have no choice in the matter. If I did, I wouldn't kill without being provoked, and I can hardly count attacking Cobra as an attack against me. I certainly wouldn't make a point of not allowing my opponents to surrender or run. But the plain fact of the matter is that this is no longer my choice.

The other part of it is that I have been in the war and I've been trained to show no mercy to my enemies, even if it meant killing them from cover, without warning – very ninja-like, ironically since I have very seldom done such a thing as a ninja. When you get right down to it, being part of Cobra is just like being at war again – the only difference is the identity of the enemy.

"Good," the Commander says. "In the meantime, stay here."

I nod – my jaw is clenched too tightly to speak.

He leaves me alone while he sends out orders and monitors progress. My thoughts are centered on the fight that is almost sure to come tonight, despite my best efforts to think of something else – anything else. I find myself guessing how many troops will be sent, and how many will arrive before we evacuate.

I grow restless when I hear the planes approaching. They're not Americans – there's that at least. I'm not fond of killing any soldiers, but if I have to, I'm at least glad they're not my actual former comrades. I start pacing back and forth, take out my katanas, put them back, take out my bow, put that back as well. The Commander starts sniggering.

"They're not even here yet and you're already that fidgety? Don't try to pull anything cute… soldiers don't qualify as innocents under the terms of our agreement."

Don't I know. I force myself to sit down and stay still, just because I don't want to amuse him. The planes start arriving and begin circling overhead, presumably parachuting troops.

"They're circling right overhead, and troops are heading this way. You should get some of your men to help me – I won't be able to prevent all of them from taking shots at you otherwise."

I sound calm enough, but from then on, what goes on is a blur with occasional flashes of clarity. I'm well past being on autopilot, I'm disconnected. I'm fighting but my mind is a blank for most of it and I don't remember what I've done from one minute to the next, except for a few kills that happen to be at times when I'm concentrating on staying alive because of several bullets coming towards me or some other form of danger.

By the end of it, there are dozens of cobra troopers down, and what seems like hundreds of soldiers, most of them in more than one piece. My senses come back when I stop moving, and the first thing my eyes register is the number of soldiers that were clearly killed by blades, shurikens or arrows. I don't even remember shooting, but my hand wanders to my quiver and discovers I'm out of arrows.

I have no idea how many I've killed. Passing out is a tempting option right now, but I don't. I take a deep breath to steady myself and return to the Commander's side, ready to wait for another wave of soldiers or be dismissed if it turns out there are no more.

The Commander sends troops out to investigate and we wait. I stare at the ceiling, trying not to see the carnage. It's wasted effort – I can still see it from the corner of my eyes, and the Commander is not letting me forget it anyway. He won't shut up about how well I've done.

The troops eventually come back and confirm there are no more enemy troops for now. I hear myself adding that I can't hear anymore planes within range either. I think I'm just looking for something to say because the troops, although they're supposed to be addressing the Commander, won't take their eyes off me – they look terrified.

And all the while, it still feels like I'm merely watching myself. I wish I could stop watching, and I'm glad that at least, I don't remember most of the fight – I don't want to know what I did that made such an impression on them and made the Commander so happy with me.

I remind myself sternly that I had no choice. I can't give up, I can't sacrifice my uncle's eternal peace for people who are, when you come right down to it, nothing more than my enemies. I dimly wonder, as if it were a purely abstract question, whether any of the dead soldiers have families that will feel the need to avenge their deaths.

The Commander opens the general intercom, the one that lets him talk to everyone in the fortress. He screams the order to evacuate and to leave anything not already aboard the various vehicles behind.

"Including the bodies!" he specifies.

For whatever reason, this is what brings me fully back. Maybe it reminded me of leaving the dead behind in the war. Either way, every sound, smell, sight, feeling and taste seems to come back into sharp focus. I suddenly feel my blood-soaked clothes sticking to me, I feel what skin I have exposed is drenched, and the scent seems to fill the whole world. I look down at myself before I think better of it.

I expected to be covered in blood, but just how well coated I am still comes as a shock. I also spot some gray, which I automatically identify as cerebral matter, rightly or not. I swallow and I find myself wondering again if I'm going to pass out. After a few seconds of still being conscious, I swallow again and glare at the Commander, who's staring at me, obviously wondering what I'll do next.

"I need to shower and change," I say distantly. I can feel myself slip away again and I let it happen, glad for any kind of partial escape.

The Commander snickers.

"Awwh," he cooes, "but you look so dashing in red. Then again, the Cobra symbol doesn't stand out much right now. Very well, go clean and change, but be quick about it."

I feel myself get angry, but the anger dissipates before it even fully forms. I nod and run off to my quarters.

I meet up with him again at the docks, 15 minutes later, scrubbed clean and feeling much better for it. My soiled uniform is in my garbage can, buried under every other clothes that were left in my wardrobe after I changed into some of my street clothes. I intend to make the Commander provide me with a new design for my uniform – it doesn't have to be drastically different, but I don't want to wear the one I had on today ever again.


	2. Chapter 2: Respective Talents List

**Bonus Chapter 13: Respective Talents List**

This was originally a straight list, but the terms of service of specify that chapters need to contain actual narrative – a chapter cannot be nothing but an author's note or a character profile. This is gleefully ignored by many writers, but since I find the rule reasonable and would prefer if more people followed it, I had no desire to break it myself.

Thus this little story. Brand new, never before seen even by reviewers. It is set somewhere in between Reunion and Apprentices. In fact, Billy and Kamakura would have met for the first time earlier that day, which is why they're not quite as hateful towards each other as you would expect before Apprentices. As you can see, however, they're not exactly off to a great start. I imagine things will only get worse once the masters go off and they're on their own. :)

Enjoy!

* * *

Kamakura cocked his head, frowning slightly. "I'm sorry, Sensei. I misread that."

Snake Eyes shook his head, well aware that his new apprentice had interpreted his signs perfectly. He signed again that he was off to teach a private lesson to Storm Shadow and that their visitor was going to coach Sean in the masters' absence.

The red head glanced at said visitor, barely containing an expression of disdain. He had two issues with the instructions; one, he had no desire to defer to the son of Cobra Commander, even if Tommy called him his apprentice. Two, he still couldn't figure out what his sensei meant about teaching Storm Shadow; what could he possibly have to teach the born ninja?

To make things worse, Billy did not seem to share his confusion at all. In fact, the brunette rather looked amused by his reaction. He confirmed it by talking, using an indulgent tone that caused Snake Eyes' apprentice teeth to clench together.

"Snake Eyes learned more techniques from the Hard Master than Sensei did. Didn't you know that? Don't you know what their respective strengths and weaknesses are?"

Snake Eyes made a shushing motion and Billy gave a small bow, shutting up. The silent ninja then proceeded to sign that his brother's apprentice was correct and that the private lesson was indeed to pass on some of the techniques Tommy had never had a chance to learn.

"And let's be honest," Storm Shadow suddenly said from what had been an empty doorway a second earlier, leaning on the frame and smirking, "I need to learn them before you go and forget them. At least once I know them," he added with an extra emphasis on the 'I', "they are safe for as long as I live."

"Do you really never forget anything?" Kamakura asked. "So… you see a move done once and you know it forever?"

Snake Eyes shook his head and signed to signify the statement was only half true for either of them.

"My brother signs the truth. It takes me just as long to learn or memorize something as it does either of you," Tommy said, addressing the two apprentices. "Snake Eyes, on the other hand, practically does learn instantly. And then forgets just as fast as the average person. I can't imagine having to go through that… especially you, Brother. You became a master faster than anyone ever did in close range weapons and fighting techniques, but you are in constant danger of regressing unless you have someone of comparable or superior skills to practice with."

Snake Eyes smirked under his mask and signed that thankfully, his brother was just skilled enough to qualify as comparable.

Tommy's eyes narrowed. "While I am lucky not to need a partner since even you would be woefully inadequate to help me practice archery, the Ear that Sees and any other sensory technique, or any number of trances and hypnotic techniques. I'll grant you that you'd do - if barely - to help me practice shurikens and throwing knives."

Snake Eyes' jaw clenched and he signed that their apprentices were lucky to have both of them as teachers.

Storm Shadow snorted. His brother only appeared to be needlessly stating the obvious; it was easy to guess he was simply mentioning the apprentices to point out they should not argue in front of them, despite the fact he had started it. "They are indeed," he said.

"Of course!" Kamakura said enthusiastically. "Sensei is the greatest sword master in the world! I stand here still amazed at my good fortune!"

Billy blinked at Snake Eyes' apprentice, having a hard time believing Sean Collins had really said that; and with a straight face, to boot. One would think that if the new apprentice wanted to suck up so badly, he'd find a way to do it that didn't insult the other master of his clan.

"Not to mention your luck to be studying with the greatest archer of our time," he said pointedly, addressing his new sword brother.

Kamakura swallowed; truth be told, he was not exactly keen on spending training time on archery when he could be practicing with firearms instead, but he couldn't very well insult Storm Shadow. "The Young Master is indeed beyond exceptional with a bow," he settled for saying.

Tommy rolled his eyes, easily guessing at the young man's feelings. "Arrows are much quieter than guns," he remarked. "Something most ninjas appreciate. I will admit that when it is my brother wielding the clumsy noise making devices, the results are extremely impressive."

Snake Eyes shrugged modestly and signed that Storm Shadow was among the best shots he knew as well when he did choose to use a gun. Tommy shrugged in turn. "I'm a good shot; you're an artist. A noisy, smelly artist. Just as well you don't mind using them;" he added with a smirk, "they don't require as much upper body strength."

"What do you mean, Young Master?" Kamakura asked innocently. It seemed obvious to him that Storm Shadow could not possibly be saying that the much bulkier Snake Eyes had less strength than he did; the Young Master had obviously meant to tease Sean's sensei, but he usually teased with the truth, not with nonsense.

"My sensei is the strongest," Billy supplied, deliberately imitating a child bragging about his father in an attempt to lighten the statement with a bit of humour.

Kamakura's eyes widened; he realized Billy was a bit younger than he was, but he had not expected this kind of immaturity. "He is not," he said, making no effort to hide his annoyance.

Snake Eyes quickly signed that Billy was telling the truth, preferring to do it himself than to withstand the level of smugness Tommy would put out if he was allowed to confirm the fact himself. He added that it was not surprising that someone who had almost literally trained all their life should have more strength and stamina.

"I… I apologize," Kamakura said, bowing to the Young Master, who just chuckled at him.

"Don't be fooled by appearances," he said, wagging his finger at the red head but still smiling. "Surely you don't think your sensei is as slow as people his size tend to be?"

"Not at all!" Kamakura said. He turned to Billy, eyes narrowed. "My sensei is in fact the fastest," he said in a sing song voice, imitating the brunette's earlier tone.

Billy rolled his eye. "Yes, because he learns instantly! He gets faster and better at it every time he repeats a move! You don't need to tell me how good Snake Eyes is; I told you, _I_ know the masters' respective strong suits."

Kamakura blinked at the explanation for Snake Eyes' speed. It did sound right, but then… "Wouldn't you also become better at a move each time you repeated it, Young Master?" he asked.

"Not as easily; I am more naturally disposed at performing exactly the same way each and every time once I've mastered a technique. I can get faster, but it takes a dedicated effort."

"So… Sensei's speed is what gave him the advantage when you fought?" Kamakura asked.

"That and superior technique. Especially when I was brainwashed," Storm Shadow replied, his tone somewhat less than pleasant.

Kamakura swallowed and cast his mind for something to say that would dislodge his foot from his mouth. "And yet, you are without equal against multiple opponents, aren't you?" he asked.

Tommy nodded. "My memory helps me instantly decide on moves and strategies because I've seen and trained for pretty much every kind of scenario that can occur in a fight. It feels a lot like being on autopilot, much like when you're practicing well known routines; even though in this case, it's a constantly shifting combination of various routines. The Ear That Sees also provides me with a distinct advantage, of course; I may as well have eyes all around my head."

Snake Eyes nodded and signed that his brother was the nightmare of all stealth artists.

Storm Shadow sniggered. "Stealth is overrated. I'm told you are particularly good at it, yet even you have no hope of ever hiding from me - or anyone else with half decent ears, for that matter. Now come, Brother; you've stalled on this lesson long enough. I promise not to tell anyone when it turns out you have nothing to teach me anymore but how to better play hide and seek against deaf people."

Snake Eyes rolled his eyes under his visor and signed that since they'd both be frail old men by the time Tommy managed to catch up, he would not hold him to that promise.

Tommy's eyes only narrowed for an instant before they crinkled in a smirk again. "I'll blame the teacher if it takes that long. As for my word, of course you won't hold me to it; you won't remember it. Thankfully for your future pride, I will."

Snake Eyes shooed Tommy out of the room and followed. There was one particular technique the Hard Master had taught him that had left him covered in painful bruises from head to toes; it was a very good technique, very unique to the Arashikage, and it was high time Tommy learned it.

* * *

Just in case you're curious, here's the original list in all its list-y glory. I incorporated the most important bits in the story above; the rest may never make it to any story, and I won't even guarantee that I won't change my mind on it.

Strength: slight advantage SS, which mostly comes from having trained since he could walk and never having to spend training time re-learning things or practicing acquired skills, leaving more time to develop strength and stamina.

Speed: advantage SE, natural talent associated with cognitive

Agility: advantage SE, natural talent associated with cognitive

Stamina: slight advantage SS, see Strength above.

Senses: huge advantage SS (hearing extraordinary and seeing ear training, sight, smell and touch used better than average although ordinary)

'Physical Memory': Storm Shadow has it, Snake Eyes doesn't. Although it is still related to his central nervous system, the visible effect is that his body seems to never forget the techniques he has learned. In simple terms: to him, everything is like riding a bike.

Reasoning, Logic: advantage Snake Eyes

Imagination: advantage Storm Shadow but it's a double-edged sword

Cognitive: huge advantage Snake Eyes – he's basically an instant learner. As Akane once said about Ranma, he learns new tricks quicker than Lassie.

Memory: huge advantage Storm Shadow – once he has learned something, he never forgets it. This is not a photographic memory where everything he is exposed to is never forgotten – he still has to go through a learning process, which can be anything from a) merely trying to memorize it to b) coming to understand it to c) getting the moves perfectly right with no luck involved.

Fighting Technique: big advantage Snake Eyes (more advanced techniques, better skills due to speed and agility)

Sword: big advantage Snake Eyes (same reasons)

Almost every other impact weapon: advantage Snake Eyes (same reasons)

Bow: big advantage SS (it's his favourite weapon so he practices it more, his strength allows arrows to go faster and further, his senses allow better aim)

Throwing Weapons: roughly even

Guns: big advantage SE (SS hardly ever uses them because they hurt his ears)

Trance and Hypnosis techniques: advantage Storm Shadow because some require speech and Snake Eyes wasn't taught the most dangerous ones - they are only taught to those who can't forget how to execute them perfectly even if safety dictate they don't perform them unless they absolutely need to (so, never just to practice). In other words, you only learn them if you have Storm Shadow's flawless mental and 'physical' memory. On a day to day basis, this is not a significant advantage or disadvantage.

Stealth: Advantage Snake Eyes (SS never had any interest in it, mostly due to the fact it doesn't work against him)

Anti-Stealth: Advantage Storm Shadow (seeing ear, being able to function blind)

One-on-one combat: Advantage Snake Eyes because of his superior fighting technique.

Multi-opponent combat: Advantage Storm Shadow (due to hearing and memory – doesn't need to think about strategy or best moves, and has the equivalent of eyes all around his head)


	3. Chapter 3: Alcatraz

**Author's Notes**

This was the bonus for chapter 15, and is set around Storm Shadow's escape from Alcatraz. The first part is just because I wanted to explore Stalker's reaction to finding out his other surviving war buddy (who just happened to pull a few fantastic stunts back in the days) has become one of his enemies. The second part is Snake Eyes' reaction to Storm Shadow's escape.

My excuse for Snake Eyes and Stalker not leaving Alcatraz with Hawk is that they were some of the Joes assigned to guarding the prisoner for the first little while.

* * *

**Alcatraz**

"Snake Eyes?" Stalker called, erupting into the lounge. "I need to talk to you. I need some answers."

The ninja sighed and got up. He hadn't been looking forward to this, but he had been expecting it. He gestured his friend to follow and guided him back to the now empty and therefore nicely private interrogation room.

"Cobra's ninja's name;" Stalker started as soon as he had closed the door behind them, "Storm Shadow. It sounded familiar, so I looked up my old files."

Snake Eyes nodded.

"That's Tommy's name in English. He told us what it meant once, and I noted it down because I thought it was funny… he'd have these mood swings, so you know, kind of stormy personality."

The silent commando nodded again, his shoulders sagging unnoticeably. He remembered that evening. Tommy had been the only one who hadn't been amused.

"I've been trying to track him down for years. I used to tell General Flagg he'd be great. I even used to tell him you'd be a great pair. Heck, I told General Hawk the same thing just a couple of weeks ago. You told me you went to train with his family but lost track of him."

Snake Eyes did not move for a moment and then nodded again, sagging a bit more. He'd had no idea Lonzo was actively trying to recruit the third surviving member of their old unit.

"Is it really him? Did MY bullet dodging, super hearing, crazy good archer join Cobra?"

Another nod. This time, the ninja's head stayed down.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Stalker cried out.

For a full minute, it looked like Snake Eyes was not going to answer. Finally, he signed that it was complicated. He paused noticeably and signed further that Tommy had changed.

"Yeah," Stalker said with a sigh. "But why? How?"

Snake Eyes started signing again but stopped without even forming a full phrase. He tried again, stopped again, sighed and got out his notepad. He scratched out three starts before he was finally satisfied enough to rip a page and hand it to his friend.

_I don't know. He just lost it? I don't KNOW. I was there, I saw it happen, I even saw signs of it before he totally snapped, and I still can't wrap my head around it. But the fact is, he's not who he used to be. You NEED to believe me on this. He's dangerous. He won't hesitate to kill you if you give him the chance. _

Stalker opened his mouth to reply but closed it back and groaned. He took a few deep breaths before continuing.

"You were determined to kill him back there. Why? That's not like you, even with other Cobras; not against orders. And they're ALL dangerous. What did he do?"

Snake Eyes had just started writing an answer when the alarm sounded and the two soldiers put their conversation aside to rush to the source of the trouble. Traffic directed them to the cells' area and Snake Eyes eventually started running ahead of the rest, so that he was the first to make it to the prone form of the soldier who'd had the first guard shift, the one that was to replace him and take the second shift, and the medic on duty.

A glance revealed that the first guard was merely unconscious. Snake Eyes bent down and found a bruise below his ear.

"A balled up spring," the medic said, noticing Snake Eyes. "It was still stuck to his skin, kind of dug in there."

Under his mask, Snake Eyes' eyes went wide. He stepped over the sleeping soldier and the medic into the cell. He saw the hole in the mattress from the doorway, but walked over anyway to peer in and see for himself what he still could not believe.

He clenched his fists, wishing not for the first time that he could scream. The Young Master, one of the most gifted ninjas alive, had been given a spring mattress in a cell where the door had a huge hole in it and was secured by an old antique lock that could practically be picked by a child.

He slapped his forehead as a substitute for slapping everyone else around. This was insane. He had warned Hawk that Tommy could not be held for long, but he hadn't expected Storm Shadow to escape within the first two hours. He hadn't expected he'd just be given everything he needed. A spring mattress… they might as well have forgotten to close the door.

He could picture the scene quite well. His former brother would have taken two springs from the mattress, one to pick the lock and one as a weapon. He would have enticed the guard to come in front of the door, and…

Snake Eyes frowned, puzzled. The guard would have faced his prisoner, and by all logic, they should have found him dead with the balled up spring lodged in the middle of his throat. But instead, he had been hit on a sleeping point, relatively weakly, so that he had merely been knocked out.

To do that, Storm Shadow would have had to make him turn sideways after making him come in front of the door. It may not have been overly difficult, but there was no point to it at all other than to spare the soldier's life. It was inefficient. It was a waste of time. So why had he?


	4. Chapter 4: Peace Negotiations

**Bonus for chapter 16: Peace Negotiations**

Some fun with the Cobra Commander, Destro, Bludd and the Baroness. This would be what the Commander alludes to in Arashikage when he's talking to Zartan about buying back the peace with those three.

* * *

They erupted into the office without knocking, all three of them with guns in hands. The Commander looked up and leaned back in his chair casually.

"Ah. Destro, Baroness, and Major Bludd. I thought we might have this little discussion soon."

"Start talking, Commander," Destro said. "We _are_ reasonable people; we'll give you one chance to convince us that we stand to benefit from your continued existence."

The Commander cackled.

"Why, it seems obvious to me. Tell me, Destro… how do you think Storm Shadow will react when he comes back if he finds me dead? What do you think he'll do when faced with the fact the last eight years were all for nothing and that he'll never find out who framed him or avenge his dear departed uncle? You do realize he'll blame all three of you, don't you?"

The Baroness laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Commander. The ninja's dead. The Major and I both saw Snake Eyes fighting him – it's quite obvious he can't have survived that fight."

"Ah… is that where this misunderstanding comes from?" the Commander said. "Hold on."

He picked up his new cell, called up the appropriate application and put the phone on his desk, facing his three would-be killers.

Destro's eyes widened. He didn't need to see the screen up close, he could make out what it was from here; the Commander was showing off readings from the microchip Mindbender had implanted in Storm Shadow's head.

"What is that supposed to be?" Bludd asked.

"It monitors brain activity," the Commander said. "Storm Shadow's, to be exact. As you can see, there's quite a bit more of it than you'd expect from a corpse."

"So your pet ninja is alive," Bludd said. "I'm guessing the thought of our having to deal with him will be small comfort from your grave, Commander."

"What you need to ask yourself is whether killing me is worth putting yourself in no small amount of danger; I think you need to weigh the pros and the cons. So then; what are the pros? Petty satisfaction, obviously, but other than that? Keep in mind that my 'pet ninja', as you so charmingly put it, Major, is one of the most dangerous men alive. I suggest you let Destro and the Baroness assess whether seeing me dead is worth the danger he'd represent to you."

Destro put his best effort into keeping a game face on. The Commander was quite right in assuming that knowing the ninja was alive changed everything. A quick glance at the Baroness revealed that she was thinking hard too. Bludd, for his part, looked mostly surprised that such a small thing could have such an effect but was keeping quiet, apparently following the Commander's advice on letting his partners assess the threat.

"I believe I will be reassured about your leadership qualities and your friendship if you agree to compensate us for the grief you have caused us," Destro said. "An apology is obviously in order."

"I'm guessing you have more than words in mind for that apology?"

"Ten millions each," Destro said.

"Hmm. Thirty millions for trying to take one life. Assuming saving one is worth at least half of that and that I just saved all three of yours, that would leave us with you three owing me 15 millions. I'm willing to negotiate."

"You agreed to two millions each for the Major and myself earlier," the Baroness remarked. "I felt at the time this would be sufficient to earn you my forgiveness. I still do. Of course, I would expect you to extend your offer to Destro as well. Bear in mind that these sums are merely the means for you to demonstrate your regrets over this whole business, and not a price tied to a particular life."

"Dear Baroness, you were always the smooth talker," the Commander cackled. "Very well, we have a deal."

Six millions was but small change, and this conversation had been entertaining enough to be worth it.


	5. Chapter 5: Two for one!

**Author's Notes**

You get two for one this time. The next bonus was more notes, in this case some Arashikage Insider Knowledge. I didn't turn this one into a story for a variety of reasons: for one, it was impractical because some of it is not actually known to Tommy and he wouldn't really discuss some of what he does know. Also, these notes are much more readable than a straight list already. And finally, these former bonuses don't seem to be attracting that much attention, and I got lazy…err, I mean I decided to focus my efforts on other projects.

So, since I still don't want to post a chapter made up of nothing but notes, I combined this bonus with the next one for this 'chapter'. To make it easier for you to skip the notes and read an actual story, I also reversed the order. So, right after the break are some Zartan musings, and the Arashikage Insider Knowledge tidbits are after that.

The Zartan musings are set just before Zartan has a chat with brainwashed Storm Shadow in Arashikage, and explains his actions. No explanation, other than a guess on Storm Shadow's part much later, was included in the story for the simple reason that Tommy had absolutely no idea what was going on with Zartan at that time.

* * *

**Bonus Chapter 19: Zartan Musings**

Zartan was pacing in his usual room, thinking hard and hating the fact such an activity was currently necessary.

All in all, he was glad he hadn't gone too far from Springfield to wait things out. When you came right down to it, everything pointed towards the Commander being right when he said Zartan had nothing to worry about. And if there was nothing to worry about, near the Commander was the best place for Zartan and his Dreadnocks to be: the man paid ridiculously well.

He mentally went through all the signs again that pointed to Storm Shadow no longer being a threat, desperate to make sure not to miss any countersign, yet dearly hoping he wouldn't find any.

All the intel he had gathered confirmed that as far as anybody could tell within the fortress, the ninja believed the order fairytale the Commander and Mindbender had concocted completely, and had no recollection whatsoever of his previous life.

The ninja had been downright deadly at the UN, and the people he had so efficiently killed were American soldiers – before his brainwash, he had always tried his best to kill as few of them as possible, yet when the Commander had emphasized how many he had killed, he had shown no regret whatsoever – quite the opposite.

Although he realized that he knew Snake Eyes, by all appearances he had no idea how or why. He could tell they were from the same clan, but that knowledge came from reasoning, not memory. He was quite convinced Snake Eyes had attacked him because he was brainwashed by The Order – he had no inkling that Snake Eyes believed him to be a murderer and a traitor to their clan.

All in all, it really did look as though Storm Shadow's memory had indeed been wiped completely. Just the same, it'd be much better to be sure. The question was: how to do it safely?

Making sure was simple enough – he knew enough about the man to probe on things Cobra wouldn't have bothered with – subjects that were neutral, so to speak, in the fantasy world Storm Shadow currently lived in. He'd start with the fact the Young Master's first career choice had been teaching. He wasn't sure the Commander was even aware of that and he was quite certain that even if he was, he wouldn't have found the information of any interest or use. He could then branch out on his being over protective of Snake Eyes, see if that conjured back the impression he'd saved his life before, or had invited him into the clan himself.

The difficult part to figure out was what to do if the ninja DID remember something while they were talking. Zartan fought back the panic he felt at the very thought and tried to imagine the sequence of events, looking for an escape plan.

He imagined himself talking to Storm Shadow about teaching, insinuation or downright declaring that Storm Shadow was a teacher at heart. He imagined a look of shock cross the ninja's eyes as he remembered.

He imagined his head falling on the floor, shook said head to chase the image away and tried to put himself inside Storm Shadow's head and to think about this calmly. If he did recover his memory, what would the ninja's reaction be?

It was easy to guess he'd be quite horrified by what he'd done at the UN conference, considering his natural reticence to kill American soldiers. When you thought about it, he'd probably be quite glad he wouldn't be used like that again, wouldn't he?

Zartan smiled. Yes… yes, he would. Right now, what the Young Master would want most desperately would be to be free of Cobra. If he, Zartan, played a part in that, if he was the one to free Storm Shadow's mind by nudging his memories back into place, the ninja would owe him big time. He'd owe him more than his life, he'd owe him his freedom and the resulting chance at reclaiming his honour in this life.

Storm Shadow was irritatingly full of himself, he was a drama queen, he was self-righteous well past any previously registered human levels, stubborn, prone to going too far in just about everything he did, he had an explosive temper and a slightly unstable personality, but above all that, he was all about honour.

And if you're all about honour, what do you do when you suddenly find yourself owing your life, your freedom and your only chance at getting that honour back to a man you had sworn to kill? Zartan wasn't aware of a real life precedent or of any set rules written in legends or teachings for precisely that situation, but he did know that a life debt had to be repaid, no exception. If a man saves your life, you must save his. It is a matter of unspeakable shame for a man who has saved your life to die without your having saved his in return at least once. So much so that warriors who found themselves owing their life to someone typically shadowed that person until their debt was paid and had even been known, in cases where their saviour just refused to find themselves in need of saving, to arrange for danger to find them.

The Young Master would doubtless feel that having his mind freed and his sanity returned, and being able to stop working for Cobra and start making amends for his actions, was worth more than his very life.

It stood to reason that if the Young Master owed him more than his life, he'd have to at the very least save Zartan's – or in this case, spare it. Chances were the ninja would feel this was not even enough to repay the debt. With a lot of luck, the conflicting demands of vengeance and unpayable debt would drive him to commit seppuku. One could always hope.

Zartan chuckled at himself. Win-win scenario - now that's the kind of gambling he could get behind. If Storm Shadow failed to show any sign of recollection while he was prodding him, Zartan could relax and stick around. If Storm Shadow's memories weren't as destroyed as the Commander claimed and he did remember, the ninja would be stuck not harming him anyway, at the very least this time. Zartan would have to leave, but he'd be safe rather than find himself dead one morning following the ninja killing him in his sleep because he had suddenly recovered his memories on his own.

Now that he was decided on what he needed to do, it was time to think of how to get the maximum benefit from it. His thoughts immediately centered on the Baroness and Destro, who he had noticed where eyeing the ninja quite intently since the battle. It was easy to guess what was on their mind: they wanted the brainwashed Storm Shadow to be loyal to them rather than to the Commander.

Zartan left his room and headed for the Baroness's. He'd offer to share his findings with her, for a price. He was pretty sure the Baroness would want the information – their chances of being able to manipulate the ninja would increase dramatically if they had a better idea of what was going on in his head.

* * *

**Author's Note**

There you go, the reason behind Zartan's little chat with Storm Shadow in the gym. In short, he wanted to know for sure Storm Shadow wouldn't recover his memories and if there was any chance that he might, he wanted to be the one bring those memories about so as to put Storm Shadow in his debt.

Destro and Baroness attempted to make use of Zartan's report by insinuating that the Commander had only saved Storm Shadow so he'd fight Snake Eyes: they were hoping this would make Storm Shadow angry with the Commander (due to his confirmed determination to save his brother).

* * *

**Bonus chapter 17: Arashikage Insider Knowledge**

The following are some tidbits of information that may or may not ever be explicitly stated in the story. They have some impact on the story, although indirect. None of this is canon.

_Why don't the Hard Master and the Soft Master have children of their own? _

They each had one son, only days apart, who both died in infancy within days of each other. The Hard Master's wife was afterwards unable to have more children and the Soft Master, seeing this as a possible curse, didn't dare try for more children.

Tommy was born a few years later and is the third of his generation, although the only one to survive past infancy. Although is official name on his American papers is Thomas S. Arashikage, he is Tomisaburo to his relatives, which translates to something close to precious third child. His father was also named Tomisaburo, and although he officially named his son like that to honour the memory of his deceased nephews, the rest of the clan correctly believes he just seized an excuse to name his first son after himself rather than have to wait for a possible third one.

_How did Tommy's father die?_

He had an aneurysm during a friendly match with a ninja from another clan. The Hard Master leads Tommy to believe the matter has already been settled to prevent him from seeking revenge against whoever happened to have been sparring with him at the time. More details on the Fearless Master's death can be found in _Ninja Spirits_.

_What's with the Amaterasu Jewel?_

The clan was founded to guard it: prevent it from being activated unless it became needed to save the world, in which case they would be in charge of activating it and controlling it. Does it have any actual power? Nobody knows, but the clan is not prepared to stop performing the ceremonies, partly because the jewel just might really be all powerful and partly because like most people, they can't resist the lure of feeling important.

The ceremony must be performed by the current leader of the clan, and the clan must be led by a direct descendant of the first leader.

The Hard Master thinks this is all foolishness and refuses to perform the sealing ceremonies, so it falls to the Soft Master to do it.

The jewel will not play a role in any of my stories aside from sometimes influencing the actions of the Arashikage and possibly some other people.

_Is the cousin mentioned a few times Jinx?_

Yes. In my version, she grows up with the clan, although she would move to the United States at some point after the death of the Hard Master. I recently found out the age difference between her and Storm Shadow is greater in the comic books, but I'm sticking with my version – she is more useable to me this way.

_Is she a direct descendant?_

No. Her mother was adopted by Tommy's grandparents. Although she goes by Arashikage and is in every other respect considered a blood relative, she can't lead the clan.

_Why can't she earn wages?_

She's 12 when Tommy comes back from the war, which is considered too young to earn wages. She is known to share her cousin's distaste for it, and since it's his responsibility and not hers, it is assumed she will not be made to do it. The Hard Master and Soft Master even assume that when he leads the clan, Tommy would sooner continue to go on missions himself than send her.

_What is the reason that the Hard Master and Soft Master never did have a chance to spell out for accepting criminal clients for the Young Master if they paid enough money?_

They can't assume he'll ever have much free time otherwise, since both his cousin and his best friend don't want to earn wages and they can't imagine he'd force them to.

Beyond just wanting him to be happier, since he's the only direct descendant of his generation, they want him to find himself a wife and have children to ensure he's not the last direct descendant. The Soft Master alludes to this when he says they want him to socialize – he really should have been blunter. To this day, Storm Shadow still has no idea that that's what they were up to.

As for why it's even an issue, the Arashikage has decided generations ago to stray from more traditional ninja values (or lack thereof) and, much as the Hard Master tells Snake Eyes in Snake Eyes declassified, the ways of the Arashikage aren't quite what is usually seen as the ways of the Ninja. This mostly translate in their believing in honour and in their refusal to do hit contracts; it's not that they won't kill, they do plenty of that when they feel it's necessary, but they won't allow someone else to buy the privilege to tell them who needs to die at their hands. This and their general attitude leads to many other clans to mock them by calling them samurai wannabes. I went this way instead of a more realistic ninja clan because it fitted both Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's characters a lot better. The whole '30 generations of assassins' thing on the old filecard…? Mistranslation. Yes. It's 30 generations of ninjas, all of which have murdered several people, and the more recent of which did not do so just because they were paid to. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Besides, I write AU.

_Were there any clan war during Tommy's lifetime?_

Well, there are clan wars and there are clan wars. Ninjas are a pretty aggressive bunch, and more often than not, there will be at least a few cold wars on the go, where there are no direct hostilities unless two ninjas from warring clans happen to run into each other. On the opposite side of the spectrum, clans that come to hate another clan enough may attack that other clan's home with the intent of murdering everyone there, including non-fighters such as staff and non-ninjas family members such as wives, husbands and children.

The Arashikage is involved in cold clan wars regularly. They're in such a war with the Kamura clan at the time the Hard Master is murdered (because Tommy decapitated one of them following the Kamura ninja's offer to kill the Hard Master and the Soft Master – in chapter 4 of Arashikage). All-out wars are not as common by the time Tommy is born, but there was a clan war that lasted almost a year when he was a teenager. That part of his childhood is responsible for some of his personality quirks, most notably his arguably excessive loyalty to his clan and his unfounded worries about losing the respect of the other clans.

You can read _Clan War_ for more details on what went on in that particular war.

_If the extraordinary hearing and memory are characteristic of the Arashikage, who else has them?_

Nobody else currently has both to the same degree Tommy does.

The Seeing Master's hearing was just as good, but he is currently presumed dead (for the second time).

The Hard Master also had extremely good hearing in his youth, but due to old age, it's down to just a bit better than average.

The Soft Master has the same extraordinary memory Tommy does. It hasn't yet dulled with old age.

Tommy's father and mother had excellent hearing (though not quite as good as Tommy).

Jinx has above average hearing, but not to the same level. Like I said above, she's not a blood relative, but her mother may have been adopted in part because she had exceptional hearing.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

That's it! Now you have a better idea of how much I over think my fics.


	6. Chapter 6: Billy, Soft Master and SE

**Author's Notes**

This one is set between chapter 26 and 27 of Arashikage; at that point, Billy has left Storm Shadow (much like in the comics) but rather than being intent on just confronting his father and finding out who had killed Storm Shadow's uncle, he's a bit more desperate for assistance due to Tommy being brainwashed and his rising fear that his sensei will eventually run back to Cobra - who he believes to be the good guys – unknowingly dooming both of them.

* * *

**Bonus Chapter 29: Billy, the Soft Master and Snake Eyes**

Billy kept at his katas for five more minutes after Tommy disappeared through the trap door to go get the groceries. He then stopped, took out a piece of paper and a pen, and started writing. He stuffed the letter in an envelope as soon as it was done, resisting the temptation to re-read it and re-write it better, knowing he had no time to waste: there was already a good possibility he'd end up being dragged back here by the scruff of his neck before the morning; he had to get moving if he was to have any chance at all of finding help before his sensei found him.

He slipped a couple of knives in their holsters under his shirt, reflecting that even though he'd be no match for anybody who knew what they were doing, the knives would at least help him against most potential enemies.

He wrote "Tommy" on the envelope, deposited it in the middle of the floor and slipped out the trapdoor.

* * *

Billy knew he was completely dependent on good luck, but at least he was comfortable that he had stacked the odds in his favour as much as he could: today was a Sunday, and he figured that was the most likely day for a soldier to be off base and out and around; he knew Snake Eyes was in this neighbourhood often, because Tommy had run into him a few times despite the fact his sensei himself, up until only a few weeks ago, was only here very occasionally – Storm Shadow had even reached the same conclusion, judging by how he was constantly on guard when they were out. Although truth be told, Billy suspected being careful was so second nature to the ninja that he didn't realize it.

Billy was looking around very carefully for a masked figure, be it a face-like mask or the black mask and visor he'd seen on the news now and again, or for anything that could point to the reason for Snake Eyes' frequent visits to the neighbourhood.

He instinctively scanned the Asian man sweeping the sidewalk in front of a convenience store; he felt a bit silly for such blatant racial stereotyping, but he WAS looking for a ninja clan, and this was a predominantly Latin neighbourhood, so he couldn't help scrutinizing the short, portly Japanese man.

The thought that the man was too out of shape to be a ninja had barely formed that Billy was pushing it aside – his posture and his movements betrayed the man was in much better physical condition than he appeared. As he got closer, Billy spotted a broken red line and a solid one right under it, protruding from under the man's right sleeve. His heart skipped a beat and it was with some effort that he willed his feet to keep moving steadily towards the sweeping man. The man stopped sweeping when he was still a few steps away and looked straight at him, smiling.

Billy gulped and took another couple of steps before he stopped in front of the man, who was still smiling at him questioningly, leaning casually on his broom.

* * *

The Soft Master noticed the young man staring at him while he was still a good distance off, but first dismissed it as simple curiosity – he was a little bit out of place in this neighbourhood, and he got more than his share of stares, especially when he was doing something so odd as sweeping the bit of public property that was in front of his store.

He stopped what he was doing and gave the boy his full attention when it became obvious he was coming straight for him. The boy gulped upon being noticed, despite the Soft Master taking pain to appear friendly and to smile, but he walked up to him anyway.

"Can I help you with something, young man?" the Soft Master asked, keeping his eyes on the boy's own and his attention on the two knife-shaped bumps under his shirt.

"I'm sorry to bother you, sir," the boy said. His voice dropped a bit more on each of the following syllables until it was all but a whisper. "but… is… is your name Arashikage?"

The Soft Master's eyes widened a bit and he nodded.

"It is, but how do…"

"I have to talk to you in private," Billy cut him off urgently. "Sound-proof room if you have one, we can put loud music too, that might do the trick."

The old man raised an eyebrow but didn't move.

"Who is it that's looking for you, boy?" he asked.

Billy frowned impatiently, looking over his shoulder.

"My sensei," he whispered. "He thinks I'm in danger, but he's the one who needs help. Please, can we go inside? He can't find me before I find Snake Eyes."

The Soft Master had heard enough. He guided the boy inside the store, locked up, put up the closed sign and brought Billy to a closed room in the basement.

"This is as soundproof as it gets," he said upon closing the door. "Prove to me that you really are my nephew's student by giving me his full name and mine, or die. I will not play games about him."

Billy's eyes widened. His nephew? This was Sensei's uncle? He was with the man who had sentenced Tommy to death…

"Tommy Arashikage," he said. "He says Thomas doesn't feel as natural, but he doesn't actually remember his name. You… you're the Soft Master. You think he killed your brother the Hard Master, but he didn't. He thinks the Order made up that memory, but he remembers when your brother died, and he remembers he didn't do it but you decided he had and told everyone to kill him."

Billy couldn't quite keep himself from snarling at the man. The Soft Master fell sitting on one of the chairs in the room.

"Dear spirits," he muttered. "Who are you? How did you meet him? Are you part of Cobra? You can't be, you wouldn't want to help him if you were…"

"I was tricked into trying to assassinate the Cobra Commander, and I was going to be executed. Your nephew rescued me."

"You were tricked? Odd choice of words… hold on, this can wait."

The Soft Master got up and walked to a corded phone sitting on a table in the corner of the room. He dialled and waited, keeping an eye on Billy, looking like he was seeing a ghost.

"I have a boy here who says he was rescued by your brother and made his apprentice. Come here immediately." The Soft Master said when someone picked up. He hung up without waiting for an answer and went back to sit in front of Billy.

"What is your name?"

"Billy."

"How were you tricked? Tell me everything, Billy. We can put time to better use than my coaxing answers out of you."

"Do you still think Tommy killed his uncle?" Billy asked.

"No. I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am that I ever did."

Billy nodded and launched into his story, leaving out no details, from his recruitment by the Baroness and Major Bludd to his running away from the water tower to find help for both himself and Tommy.

Snake Eyes arrived in the middle of it and sat down without giving any indication that he wanted Billy to start over.

He turned to the Soft Master once the boy was done and signed to ask the kid's name.

"His name is Billy," the Soft Master answered. "He was recruited by the Baroness and Major Bludd to kill the Commander under the guise of one of many youngsters swearing loyalty."

Snake Eyes frowned under his mask. Kids, swearing loyalty to Cobra… the thought was repulsive.

"It was a rough day for him," the Soft Master continued. "His attempt failed, and he found out the Commander was none other than his estranged father. The Commander ordered that he be executed the following morning unless he betrayed his co-conspirators. Billy refused. Tomisaburo broke him out and they ran away together. You heard the rest."

Snake Eyes nodded and signed to ask where Tommy was now.

"The water tower on top of the Clovelly building," Billy answered. "I'll take you there."

"No," the Soft Master interfered, getting up. He took Billy by the shoulders and turned him to Snake Eyes.

"You take your little brother to safety. I will go to Tommy."

Billy started protesting but stopped when he noticed Snake Eyes was signing furiously at the Soft Master, who just scowled back until the signs stopped.

The Soft Master turned to Billy first, who was about to start protesting again.

"YOU are a major part of the fiction Tommy is trapped in," he said, cutting him short. "Your presence would only be a distraction and a source of worry and confusion. Snake Eyes will take you to GI Joe because they can arrange for you to be relocated and protected from your father much better than Tommy possibly could, despite his best intentions."

Billy glared at him but made no reply. He recognized the tone as the exact same one his sensei used when no arguments would be heard, and besides, he couldn't really think of any counter argument – the last thing he wanted was to impair the efforts at bringing Tommy back to himself.

"As for YOU," the Soft Master said, turning to Snake Eyes, "be reasonable. You've been trying for years to reach him with nothing but visual language, you ought to have realized by now that it's not working! Tommy reacts to sounds much more than to sights: he needs to HEAR the truth, from a familiar voice. You cannot do this for him; I can."

Snake Eyes stiffened and clenched his fists, but eventually nodded and gestured Billy to follow.


	7. Chapter 7: Ninja First Aid

**Author's Notes**

Deleted scene: for Arashikage, I was originally going to have Billy getting captured by the Dreadnocks and getting his injuries from that capture, with no coma involved. This is how things unfolded with that version of events – I liked it, but it created a major plot hole, so it had to go. This would have been set during the time Storm Shadow is brainwashed into an obedient cross between a ninja and a potted plant, following his recapture and so, after he trained Billy.

The beginning of this will be very familiar to those who have read Arashikage, as I recycled most of it for the final version of the story; this scene would have taken place at the same time as the final version did.

* * *

**Bonus chapter 30: Ninja First Aid**

I stay outside the door, as ordered, miserable and lost. I don't know what to do. I always do everything I can, and I always fail, because… because of Snake Eyes.

My nose wrinkles up in distaste at the very thought of the name, and my fists clench. This is HIS fault. It's HIS fault my master hates me. I can never kill him, and I actually remember his stopping me from killing other people, too. Oh, I HATE him.

My lips curl up in a snarl and I spend the next little while reflecting on just how good it would feel to rip his heart from his chest.

I'm interrupted by a bunch of men, some of the ones that wear different clothes, rushing to the Commander's office with a boy in their arms, screaming at everyone to let them through. The boy's face is covered in blood, especially the right side, and one of his legs looks like it was put through a blender.

His heart is erratic, too, and he's breathing with some difficulty. He sounds really familiar, which is odd – he's nobody important, I don't know why I'd recognize him.

"Let us through, Storm Shadow!" one of the men snaps. "The Commander wants this kid!"

"S.. Storm…? Sensei?"

The voice is little more than a whisper, its owner having obviously very little strength to devote to talking, but it drowns every other noise.

_Billy. _

_Hurt. _

_Dying…! _

There is no confusion this time; I go straight from feeling miserable because my "master" is angry with me to knowing he's just breaking my heart for fun and that I have only seconds to get Billy and I out of here and to safety before the chip warns Mindbender and the Commander that I'm free again and they activate the safety switch.

I have no idea how I'm going to do that, especially seeing how badly hurt Billy is, but I do know the first step is to get him away from those Dreadnocks. I rush at them, unsheathing both my swords, and decapitate the two holding Billy.

I catch him and lay him on the floor with one arm, using my free hand to throw shurikens in the throats of the next three Dreadnocks.

I throw a smoke bomb next, grab Billy again and run in the other direction with him.

"S… S… Sen…?" He trails off without finishing the word. His pulse slows down to a more regular rhythm, and although his breathing is still shallow, it's calmer. He's passed out.

Between his leg and his face, he's losing too much blood. I need to bandage him up, slow the blood loss. Stupid Dreadnocks… they wouldn't have been bringing him in this state if they had been ordered to kill him, they would have finished him off. Therefore, the Commander must have wanted him alive, and they bring him back half dead?

I can't let him die. What is he even doing here? Why didn't Snake Eyes send him far, far away from here? Or did he come back without Snake Eyes' knowing? Dear spirits, don't let me find out he came back for me.

I crash into the first room I expect will have some fabric I can use for bandages – a laundry room. It's ridiculous and there is absolutely nothing funny about our situation, but I can't help sniggering anyway – third time, even if for once, it's not the GI Joe laundry room.

I lay Billy down and start wiping the blood off to see where the wounds actually are. I bite my lips when his face is clean enough to see the damage: he's lost his right eye – part of the eyeball is still there, but it's obvious it can't be saved. I fold a clean sock and secure it against the hole with a long band of fabric I cut from a pant leg and move on to his leg.

That won't be saved either: my first description was accurate, it looks a lot like it went through a blender, or a meat grinder. All that's left from just above his knee are some slivers of skins, ripped, dangling muscles and part of the bones. What is there is burnt severely, presumably by the Dreadnocks in an effort to cauterize and keep him alive.

I need to amputate - the Dreadnocks may have managed to slow the blood loss, but they've left the tissue exposed and the whole mess is full of dirt and almost certainly infected. If I leave it, the infection will spread and in his condition, Billy can't afford to be trying to fight off an infection.

I'll need to cauterize, too – I have neither the skill nor the time to sow every vein I'm about to sever. Unlike the Dreadnocks, I don't have a flame thrower, but I do have a lighter and some flammable oil designed specifically to make it quick and easy to start a fire.

I drench some fabric in oil, wrap it around a handful of arrows, set the improvised torch on fire and hold it ready with my left hand. I draw my sword with my right hand, clench my jaw and with one strike, amputate the dead limb.

Billy wakes up screaming. I put my torch to the stump, causing him to scream even louder, sheath my sword, stretch my right arm over him to pinch his sleeping point and he goes quiet again. I choke the fire as soon as the bleeding stops and wrap the stump in more clean fabric.

The whole operation took about 10 seconds. I hear troops coming this way, and I'm guessing they're headed by someone who can activate the safety device incorporated in my chip. I never did find out how close I need to be for someone to be able to knock me out.

I pick Billy up in a cradle hold, kick the door open and run away from the troops, but within a minute, more come from every direction and I soon find myself surrounded. Almost as soon as that happens, someone with a control device gets close enough – who exactly, I'll never find out – and the chip goes off.

As usual, the pain is too much for me to even begin to try and ignore before I lose consciousness.


	8. Chapter 8: An Explanation to Destro

**Author's Notes  
**

Plot bunny generated by a question in the reviews… the Commander explains his refusal to just get rid of Storm Shadow. This would have taken place right before Destro successfully impressed upon "potted plant mode" Storm Shadow that he was not to kill the blond Joes in a later chapter of Arashikage – instructions made necessary by Cobra's desire to capture Hawk (who is blond) alive.

* * *

**Bonus chapter 31: An Explanation to Destro**

"Excuse me?"

The two little words contained so much rage and incredulity that the Commander couldn't help but snigger. He knew Destro would end up doing what he asked: the initial refusal, especially in the form of an expression of disbelief, only made things fun.

"You heard me, Destro," he hissed. "I have a lot of things to look into before we engage; I just don't have the time to do it myself. You're the only one I can ask."

"You've got some nerve, haven't you?" Destro snarled. "Like _I_ don't have better things to do than to issue instructions to your brain-dead ninja?" He took a deep breath. "No," he said flatly. "He's YOUR problem, and I can't even understand why you don't solve it in the most expedient manner."

The Commander tilted his head. "Don't you?" he asked. "Oh, Destro. How disappointing. I thought you, of all people, would be able to grasp that." He laughed, belying his expression of disappointment.

Destro slammed his fists on the desk. "Correction," he growled. "I DO know how you rationalize this to yourself. You think that if you were to kill Storm Shadow, his friend would come for you, and instead of having someone to keep Snake Eyes busy, you'd give the ninja more motivation to undo you and your organization than ever."

The Commander frowned. "And you think you see a flaw in this logic?"

"It is rooted in paranoia; Snake Eyes is but one man!"

The Commander snorted. "I see you still haven't reviewed the footage of the fight at the United Nations."

"I don't need to. I know Storm Shadow was impressive, you've told me enough times and even before then, you were always raving about your bodyguard. I also know you're going to tell me Snake Eyes is even better and would lay waste to our troops if not for having to spend all his time countering Storm Shadow."

The Commander's eyes narrowed. "If you already know all this, why are we even having this conversation, Destro?"

"BECAUSE IT'S ALL EXCUSES!" Destro exploded. "YOU have put yourself and your organization in a very difficult position, and beyond every logical reason you can come up with to justify Storm Shadow's continued presence in the land of the living, the fact is that you're just having FUN! How long do you think you can keep this up? It WILL blow up in your face sooner or later, Commander. Mark my words."

The Commander chuckled. "Oh, alright; you've got me. I AM enjoying myself. Between the sheer satisfaction of being able to bring him to the brink of tears just by frowning at him and the challenge of solving any problem that arises and make as much use of him as possible, I haven't had this much fun in years."

Destro nodded and sat back, arms crossed and looking altogether very smug for exactly two seconds before the Commander burst out laughing. At that point, he arms dealer frowned with the air of a man who has the distinct feeling he's about to be made to feel very stupid.

That was one of the drawbacks in having the Cobra Commander as a client: sometimes, when you thought you had him all figured out and concluded that he was being insane about a particular issue, you were absolutely right. Other times, you were completely wrong and he simply DELIGHTED in letting you know just how much so.

"Destro… Destro, Destro, Destro…" the Commander hissed in a mock sigh. "Just because I enjoy it doesn't mean the very real, tactical benefits stop existing. What would you have me do? Yes, I know it won't last forever. Yes, I know it will be an explosive situation when it ends. So, here are my options: end it now and suffer through the explosion, hopefully surviving it. What do I gain from doing that? Nothing. Or! Make it last as long as I can, strengthening my position for when it DOES blow up, and enjoying it while it lasts. Which one makes the most sense to you, hmm?"

Destro's upper lip curled. "Has it occurred to you that the more you keep it up, the more incensed they both will be?"

"The possibility has, yes. But I've dismissed it. Storm Shadow will be a very angry corpse when it ends, Destro, so HE's not a problem. As for Snake Eyes, I honestly don't think he'll hate me any more if Storm Shadow dies in a year than if he dies tomorrow. This is not the type of problem that compounds itself the longer I let it simmer, Destro; quite the opposite. The longer I can drag this out, the better prepared I will be when it does end."

"And the fact that if you triggered it yourself, you would know exactly when the explosion will occur doesn't strike you as a potential advantage, does it?"

The Commander rolled his eyes. "You know me better than that. I've obviously already positioned myself to be able to react within the admittedly limited time the chip's warning will give me."

Destro sighed. He hated it when it turned out the Commander's schemes only looked crazy… he'd never get used to the embarrassment when he tried to lecture the Commander on being an idiot only to find out the Commander had it all figured out.

"Now," the Commander continued. "You made me waste a good bit of time, you know. I must insist you make it up to me by granting my earlier request and spending some quality time with out dear ninja. All you need to do is to make sure he doesn't go and kill Hawk by some unhappy coincidence."

"Fine," Destro snarled. "Only because it would be an even more irritating waste of my time to deny you long enough for you to give up asking."


	9. Chapter 9: Deleted Scenes

**Bonus chapter 33: Deleted Scenes with Commentaries**

**_Scene 1_**

_This one was deleted for flow… the grisly foreshadowing is, believe or not, unintentional. It would have been set right at the beginning of Billy's training._

He acts like a complete kid in the supermarket, looking longingly and sometimes going as far as asking for all the junk food he can spot. I finally snap when he tries to talk me into buying some soda.

"If you are so keen on poisoning yourself, may I suggest you choose something faster? I'm sure we can find some rat poison in most convenience stores around here."

"How about the sugar-free stuff?" he asks, sounding like he's ripping his own leg off to please me.

"No. It's full of chemicals instead, it will make you gassy, and it will not keep you hydrated."

He groans but doesn't insist anymore.

* * *

**_Scene 2_**

_An early attempt for a flashback scene set in the War. I was trying to compromise and still have them walk into an ambush despite the whole 'a ninja does not walk on a land mine' thing and the fact Tommy would hear the soldiers ambushed… in the end, I felt this version still couldn't happen. I did like the coffee joke, but I still haven't found a new home for it._

We're walking towards the enemy camp we located, quiet as can be. The Sergeant is in the front, followed by Saperstein, Escobedo, Collins, Chatterbox and finally, me. The Sergeant has instructed me to keep my ears peeled, and I'm guessing I'm in the back because I'm the one who least needs a line of sight.

We're getting close to the camp, and still, I can't hear anything unusual. We're being stealthy, so we shouldn't be engaged before we burst in, but I just have the oddest feeling that something is wrong. I grab Chatterbox's shoulder and get him to stop Collins – the chain goes to the Sergeant, who tiptoes to me.

"What is it?" he asks.

"I'm not sure. I just…"

He sighs. "Did you hear anything?"

"No, but… something's off."

He pats my shoulder, doing his best not to look as exasperated as he is. "Relax. It'll be fine," he says. "We all get the nerves sometimes, but you can't let yourself act on them."

I open my mouth to protest, but he's already turned his back on me and headed back to the front. I concentrate on my surroundings as we resume walking, trying to figure out what's making my skin crawl so much. I can't figure it out, and I'm starting to think the Sergeant was right about my nerves. We're almost right on top of the camp, and there's no sense pointing out danger anymore – the enemy is only paces away and we're ready to pounce on them.

And then, all hell breaks loose.

Saperstein steps on a land mine and explodes. Sergeant Wilkilson is thrown forward while Escobedo is thrown backwards. He falls on Collins, who trips and sets off another mine. Chatterbox gets sprayed and to his credit, doesn't scream. Then again, it's Chatterbox, so I'm not sure I can give him any credit for being quiet.

At the very same second, the enemy starts firing at us and at the ground, setting off more mines. There's so much noise that I can barely make out the Sergeant screaming towards Chatterbox and I to run. He starts backing up towards us, shooting towards the enemy camp.

I take out my bow and try to hear the enemies, but I can't pick up anyone over the racket, not even Chatterbox, who's right next to me. I try listening for the bullets to figure out where the guns that are shooting them are, but there are too many explosions, too many guns. I can't make any sense out of it.

At least the three of us are now standing right next to each other, which means I can hide all three of us and give us a chance to escape the ambush.

I throw all the smoke bombs I have around us and grab the other two before I turn and run, to make sure we're all running in the same direction. The Sergeant makes us veer almost right away into the thickest patch of trees around us and keeps making us change direction and pushing us to run faster. I have to keep myself in check not to leave them behind.

We keep going long after even I can't hear the enemy pursuing anymore. When we finally stop, the silence is deafening. I don't think the three of us together say more than 10 words while making camp and settling for the night.

The following morning is shaping up pretty well the same way. It still feels unreal that there are only three of us. Escobedo was joking about the coffee being too weak yesterday morning, referring to our water rations.

* * *

_**Scene 3**_

_Deleted because it was basically getting Storm Shadow to defeat (temporarily) the brainwave scanner in a way similar to how Snake Eyes did it in the comics (using strong emotions), and I didn't want to do that. Storm Shadow giving in to his emotions, even if his sanity depends on it, didn't feel right either._

I need to think fast… Mindbender said I'd be more resilient… all I can think that this could mean is that I may be able to better hang on to my real memories. If I can just hang on to one that allows me to know I don't want to work for them, maybe they won't be able to turn me into their lackey again.

The pain starts, even worse than I remember. I automatically start to scream, still without making a sound, and my brain tries to shut down as much as it can, like last time. This time, however, I force myself to keep thinking long enough to choose a memory.

I'm in so much pain that I can't imagine being able to hang on to a nice one, so it needs to be a painful one. It also needs to contradict the Commander's two demands, so it needs to make it clear I don't want to hurt Snake Eyes and that I hate Cobra.

Even those few reflections seem to take forever to click into place. Saying that my head is on fire is such an understatement that it's practically a lie and I start panicking, certain I won't be able to leap from my criterias, which are challenging to even keep in mind, to an actual decision.

I've done pain endurance training. I can ignore anything. I should be able to ignore this, too.

But I can't. It feels like my brains are being physically melted and remolded, and the full-sensory effect of the chip is back thanks to all my senses being functional. The pain smells like chemicals and tastes like pure acid, it's a thousand pins of super bright light that pierce right through my eyelids and that feel like lasers drilling through my retinas and optic nerves, it's a high pitched sirens that's liquefying my eardrums and shattering the bones inside my ears, and it feels as though every single nerve ending I have is being individually pinched and burnt simultaneously.

Focus. I need to focus. One memory. One moment. I hang on to the first one that comes to mind.

Pain. Snake Eyes. Cobra… the sound of a sword slashing towards my throat, a battle I can't win against an opponent I can't hurt, a battle that is all Cobra's fault. Billy said I was heartbroken… I make myself focus on every emotion from then, intensifying the feelings until I don't know whether I'm screaming because of the past of because of the present.

The physical pain suddenly stops. I stop screaming, but I can feel tears soaking my cheeks and I don't dare take myself out of the emotional hell I've dragged myself into, I can't take the chance of letting go of the amplified memory.

"I don't understand," Mindbender groans. "It's not taking at all. I'm going to have to intensify and attack more than his memories… I hope you meant it when you said you didn't care if he was barely functional."


	10. Chapter 10: Snake Eyes and Hawk

**Bonus chapter 34: Snake Eyes and Hawk**

Last bonus! This one takes place shortly before the end of chapter 33 in Arashikage. At that time, Storm Shadow is finally free from the effects of the brainwave scanner and is a willing prisoner of GI Joe.

It is in Snake Eyes' point of view because as much as he protested the idea, I needed to convey his thoughts and if I was going to do that anyway, this format worked well.

* * *

Despite what Tommy may think, I am not in fact deaf. I may not hear a heartbeat approaching, but I do hear the steps that are coming up the stairs behind me. Similarly, I may not be able to tell who exactly is approaching, but I can guess from the heaviness of the steps that it's a man and that he's making no effort to be quiet – in other words, the person coming to join me on the roof is extremely unlikely to be an enemy.

The man clears his throat as he opens the door, allowing me to identify him as General Hawk. I get up and snap to attention.

"At ease," he says quietly.

I tilt my head questioningly - he's obviously looking for a private conversation.

He sits down next to me, facing the edge of the roof and the grounds, and gestures me to do the same. I sit back down next to him and wait for him to talk. Judging by his expression, my guess would be that he's either going to tell me Tommy was wrong about Antarctica after all, or reprimand me for destroying the recordings Mindbender had hidden in his lab, the ones that I really wish we hadn't found. It's not like they had anything useful on them, judging by the thirty seconds we saw of them before I destroyed the player, the disk in it and every other disk in the stack.

The recording started about twenty seconds before Mindbender actually entered the room, and as Tommy had heard him approach, his expression had automatically changed from desperately concentrating on something to a mix of resignation and sheer terror... I shudder again at the thought, mostly because in all the time I've known him, I had never seen him show more fear than mild apprehension in the face of nearly certain death. I'm pretty sure he's been afraid plenty of time, but he's always been able to hide it. The fact he was terrified enough to actually look it did not bode well at all.

Mindbender had walked straight to his controls, looking bored, and started the machine. As soon as he did, it was as though someone had cranked the volume – even Scarlett had turned green, squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her hands to her ears when Tommy had started screaming.

"The X-rays worked;" Hawk starts, bringing my attention back to him. "we found the base."

I relax a bit. At least Tommy won't have to spend more time trying to remember every detail of the last several months.

"Scarlett gave me a full report." Hawk continues.

I nod. I suppose I should sign that I'm sorry for destroying potential evidence or intel, but I'd rather avoid a fake apology if I can help it - I will only offer it if he demands it.

"I honestly thought she was going to be sick on the spot when she described these recordings. I figured I'd find you on the roof at that point… unlike her, you're his friend."

I shake my head and sign the word for 'brother'.

"His brother," he corrects himself. "Do you think he will expect to come along to fight Cobra over there? I know he'll want to, but would he expect us to actually let him?"

Unseen by Hawk, my eyes widen under my visor. I've been refusing to think about it because logically, we can't muddy an attack on Antarctica, of all places, by allowing someone who is technically a dangerous criminal to tag along and participate, with weapons provided to him, in an attack against the people he was working for two weeks earlier.

I would bet anything, however, that Tommy will only see the fact he could help and be completely shocked that this help could be refused. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near when Hawk tells him: Tommy desperately wants revenge and redemption, he's going to go ballistic when he finds out he is being denied this opportunity.

I nod in answer to the question and sign that Tommy will be extremely upset to be left behind.

Hawk's expression hardens. "I know, he wants revenge. I assume you feel he has a right to it? I can't let him come. You understand that, don't you?"

I nod and don't reply. I really wish Hawk had not informed me of this: I can't let him do this to Tommy. I would have hated the idea three days ago, before finding the recordings, but now? I can't even consider it a possibility. I can't NOT let Tommy fight Cobra and the Commander. It's not that I think he should seek vengeance - between the Soft Master's misguided quest to see him dead and what became of Tommy himself while he tried to avenge the Hard Master, my brother is the most perfect example anyone could wish for that vengeance for its own sake never leads to anything good. Just the same, I will not deny him that vengeance if I can't talk him out of it; he has every right to it.

In short, I'm going to have to break him out. I know he won't be able to escape without help; I've tested that cell myself. I scowl at the thought: I will of course have to make it look like Tommy did in fact defeat the security measures I personally guaranteed, which is going to be downright embarrassing even with the knowledge he really didn't.

I hold back a sigh. The humiliation is actually the least of my concerns right now. Doing this means I'm going against my commanding officer's wishes; it's betrayal. Even though Tommy fighting with us will mean less casualties on our side, even though he really would be a huge asset in this battle, I know for a fact that Hawk wants him to stay behind, and I'm going to help him come along anyway. I'm confident I won't get caught, and I know Tommy will more than gladly play along in pretending he escaped all by himself, but I'll have to live with the lie and the fact I did this against Hawk's wishes. Well, either that or turn myself in and face the consequences.

I'm tempted to rationalize that I'm a soldier first and that Tommy will get a chance to go up against Cobra some other time, but as soon as the thought forms, I'm reminded of several conversations with the Hard Master where my response was exactly along these lines. I refused to earn wages, even on bodyguard missions, because a soldier should not be a mercenary for hire and I was only on extended leave from the army. I refused to enter a tournament I would likely have won because again, as a soldier, I felt I should not be used for monetary gain by an illegal ninja clan.

They were easy decisions back then: duty first, be a good soldier. The result was that Tommy's schedule did not relax, I was eventually able to defeat him in a duel, and the Hard Master, in a last attempt to try and make me fully join the clan and leave the army, tried to talk me into being some kind of advisor to Tommy. This in turn led to the whole clan finding the idea that Tommy became jealous enough of me and angry enough with the Hard Master to try and kill one of us not only believable but a certainty. Because of that, he had to flee and ended up joining Cobra, certain that it was the only way to clear his name and avenge his uncle, and...

I clench my teeth and stop the train of thoughts. The point is, I can't just take the easy decision and turn my back on my brother yet again.

I sign to Hawk that I understand his decision, purposely not literally committing myself to abiding by it. He shakes his head.

"No, you don't." He sighs. "I hope you realize how much trust I am putting in you right now, son. I absolutely cannot ALLOW Storm Shadow to help us win this fight and lose as few men as possible, but I refuse to let him sit in a cell while good men and women fall in battle, soldiers that may have survived with one more ninja on our side. I need you to put everyone else's safety above his: I need you to break him out and smuggle him to Antarctica, with whatever weapons he'll need. I don't need to tell you not to get caught and that this conversation never took place."

He gets up then and walks away, leaving me to sigh in relief. This certainly makes things easier on my conscience: I'm still not fond of deceiving the rest of the team, but doing it under orders makes it a lot easier, not to mention that at least, I'm not betraying Hawk's trust. As for Tommy's safety, I know he can look after himself, I intend to watch his back, and I know it'd be the least of his concerns, so I can't even make myself give it a second thought.

* * *

Just a note if you're wondering about a possible continuity error… despite Snake Eyes certainly that he would not be able to, Storm Shadow did in fact escape by himself. Snake Eyes WAS quite shocked. : )


End file.
